Brazil in mourning, after 232 charred to death in nightclub fire

Santa Maria, Brazil:More than 232 people are said to have perished in the ‘Kiss nightclub’ fire. A band's pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze, causing the partygoers to cramp the exit.

The fire started from the ceiling and spread throughout the enclosure within seconds. At least one exit of the club was locked. The bouncer tried to block the fleeing people, as they thought those fleeing were trying to skip out on bar tabs.

Some people confused restrooms doors for exit as they tried to make their way out.

Bodies of the dead and injured were strewn in the street and panicked screams filled the air as medics tried to help.

The fire officials encountered a "barrier of dead bodies" on the exit of the club. They had to clear the entrance first and only then could reach others to save them.

The rescue officials had little to do as most of the people died within seconds after inhaling the poisonous smoke.

The nightclub has a capacity of 2,000 people and on the day of the fire was filled with 500 people.

Rescuers described the scene a "horror flick" as scores of people charred to death as they tried to escape.

The vast majority of the victims, most of them university students, died from asphyxiation

Relatives of victims of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub attend a collective wake in Santa Maria. Reuters

Relatives of victims of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub attend a collective wake in Santa Maria. Reuters

Flowers deposited by residents lie below a banner showing a student celebrating her graduation hanging on the wall of a company which organises graduation parties, beside Boate Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria. Reuters

Relatives of victims of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub attend a collective wake in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Relatives of victims of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub attend a collective wake in Santa Maria. Reuters

Relatives of Shaiana Antoline mourn over her coffin during a collective wake for victims of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria. Reuters

Fire-fighters try to extinguish a fire at Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Policeman and rescue workers help a man in front of Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Police officer helps a woman next to Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff speaks during a address about a nightclub fire in southern Brazil, at the hotel in Chile. Reuters

Man carries a victim in front of Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Fire-fighters try to extinguish a fire at Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Relatives of the victims of the Kiss nightclub fire cry in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Relatives of the Kiss nightclub fire victims cry in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Funeral home workers carry a coffin containing the body of a victim from the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Brazil's President Rousseff consoles relatives of victims of a fire which occurred at the Boate Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Coffins containing the bodies of victims from fire at Boate Kiss nightclub are seen inside a funeral home vehicle in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Brazil's Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio de Aguiar Patriota and Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic observe a minute of silence about a nightclub fire in southern Brazil as they attend the closing ceremony of the summit of the CELAC-UE in Santiago. Reuters

An army official talks to relatives of the victims of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub as they wait to identify the victims' bodies in Santa Maria. Reuters

Army soldiers carry a coffin containing the body of a victim of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

A policeman and rescues workers help a man in front of the Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Relatives of victims of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub attend a collective wake in Santa Maria. Reuters

Relatives of victims of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub attend a collective wake in Santa Maria. Reuters

Flowers deposited by residents lie below a banner showing a student celebrating her graduation hanging on the wall of a company which organises graduation parties, beside Boate Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria. Reuters

Relatives of victims of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub attend a collective wake in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Relatives of victims of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub attend a collective wake in Santa Maria. Reuters

Relatives of Shaiana Antoline mourn over her coffin during a collective wake for victims of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria. Reuters

Fire-fighters try to extinguish a fire at Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Policeman and rescue workers help a man in front of Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Police officer helps a woman next to Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff speaks during a address about a nightclub fire in southern Brazil, at the hotel in Chile. Reuters

Man carries a victim in front of Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Fire-fighters try to extinguish a fire at Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Relatives of the victims of the Kiss nightclub fire cry in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Relatives of the Kiss nightclub fire victims cry in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Funeral home workers carry a coffin containing the body of a victim from the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Brazil's President Rousseff consoles relatives of victims of a fire which occurred at the Boate Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Coffins containing the bodies of victims from fire at Boate Kiss nightclub are seen inside a funeral home vehicle in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

Brazil's Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio de Aguiar Patriota and Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic observe a minute of silence about a nightclub fire in southern Brazil as they attend the closing ceremony of the summit of the CELAC-UE in Santiago. Reuters

An army official talks to relatives of the victims of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub as they wait to identify the victims' bodies in Santa Maria. Reuters

Army soldiers carry a coffin containing the body of a victim of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters

A policeman and rescues workers help a man in front of the Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria. Reuters